The Forgotten
by froggieninja101
Summary: After being captured by Gaia, Nico is rescued by a mysterious girl with sadness in her tread and weariness in her heart. When she brings him to a camp for children of minor gods unrecognized at Camp Half-Blood, will Nico take a stand or watch them fade?
1. Chapter 1: Rescued

**Chapter 1**

After three weeks, I was ready to quit. I was sick of being trapped underground, sick of being kept on the verge of death, sick of the torture, and I was sure that if I stayed down here any longer that I would go mad. The rough stone slabs that made up my prison felt as cold as death and the place stank of fear. My fear. I shivered. I was sure that the place was air tight, but I hadn't suffocated yet, though I was certain that it was only a matter of time. My breath came in harsh gasps as I fought to breathe. The last time I had been taken out of this cell, I think I must have broken a rib when Andrew hit me. He's this son of Ares gone rogue who's working for Gaia. I hate that kid almost as much as I hate Gaia herself. Talk about a guy without a sense of humor. Jeez. It's not like I said anything personal. Anyway, it felt like there was a mountain or something on my chest, just plain weighing me down and I was thinking that maybe it wasn't _just_ a rib or two that was broken. My leg was torn almost in half and it felt alien compared to the rest of me. Bone stood out in sharp relief, jutting out of the torn skin and muscle. I knew that if I didn't get medical help soon that I could die. I didn't want to go, not yet. Just thinking about death made my skin crawl. I had been assigned to escort a new camper to camp along with Ashe, a satyr. We had been captured by the gorgons and the Minotaur less than five miles away from camp. I don't know what happened to the others and don't ask me. We were taken to separate cells in the beginning and I haven't seen them since. However, after the fifth day, they got more intense on me, so I think that at least one of them has passed. I may be a son of Hades, but I can't be sure – the whole place reeks of death down here. I do hope that's just me being paranoid though. Maybe they're only pressing me harder because they're running out of time. Maybe.

The door creaked and groaned. Age old hinges squeaked in protest as it was pushed forcibly open. I scrambled back, making myself as small as I could. My leg stuck out awkwardly in front of me, but I couldn't move it without terrible pain. Gritting my teeth, I eyed the door as a small shaft of light spilled onto the floor. It was snuffed out as a person forced their way through. Darkness returned as they slammed it shut again.

"Andrew?" I asked hoarsely, bracing myself for the worst.

No answer. My heart beat faster. My eyes darted around the tiny cell, looking for a way out, but I knew there wasn't one. What would they do to me this time? I still couldn't see the person, but I knew they were there watching me. I could almost feel their presence in the cramped cell. My ragged breathing sounded unnaturally loud in the quiet.

"Who's there?" I asked, louder this time. As soon as I had done so I regretted it. Those two words left me bereft of air in my lungs. I gasped for more, and rolled onto my side as a fit of violent coughing shook me. I spat out blood onto the cold stones and shuddered pugnaciously, and braced myself for another attack.

"Oh gods," a voice whispered close at hand. I caught a glimpse of dark blue and silver eyes as the person knelt down beside me. From the sound of the voice, I was pretty sure it was a girl. My black hair had always been rather long for a guy and I could barely see her through the matted curtain of it that hung in front of my eyes. I didn't know if she was friend or foe, but I didn't recognize her.

"Who are you?" I asked through gritted teeth, trying to deny the pain that was racing through my body.

"A friend," she replied evasively. "Listen, I've been sent to rescue you." Her dark eyes bored into mine, intense and dead serious.

I groaned slightly and rolled back onto my back, relieving some of the pain. "Who sent you?" I asked through tightly clenched teeth.

She glanced around nervously, even though we were alone. "I can't say. Not here. Listen, drink this." She pushed a canteen into my hand and helped me to sit up.

Rather unsteadily, I took a cautious sip and almost gagged. Nectar, the immortal drink of the gods always tastes different depending on the person. In my case, it tasted like chocolate cake, just liquefied. Don't laugh, Percy says it tastes like chocolate chip cookies to him. My half-brother Aaron says he thinks it tastes like fruit punch. Anyway, I managed to force some of the stuff down. After ages of being fed stale bread and water, I just couldn't stomach it. I handed it back to the girl and slumped weakly against the wall; just that small motion had exhausted me. She seemed concerned, but went to work on my leg. Meanwhile, the nectar that I had swallowed began to take effect. Whatever I had suffered began righting itself and the pressure on my chest eased up to the point where I wasn't gasping for air like a beached fish. I managed to sit up again and found that my leg was back to normal. Before I could thank the strange girl, she rose suddenly and pulled me to my feet.

"Woa there," I said as I almost collapsed back on the floor.

She caught me before I could fall and helped me steady myself. "You okay?"

"You kidding?" I snorted. "Give me a week and I'll be right as rain." I massaged my chest, relieved to find that the bone and muscle underneath seemed to have righted itself completely.

"We don't have that much time," she told me tensely. "Can you at least walk?" She really did sound concerned, but more likely worried about things that didn't include my ability to stand upright.

I shook my head. I hated to admit it, but lying would cost more than my ego. "I don't think more than a few feet."

She cursed in ancient Greek and I couldn't blame her. "Come on," she growled, "I'll help you."

"Why thank you fair maiden." I made a pitiful excuse for a mocking bow.

It was hard to tell in the darkness, but I could have sworn that she had just rolled her eyes. She wrapped an arm around my waist and helped me walk. When we reached the thick oak door, she didn't hesitate. She kicked the thing open and if gave way with a very final shriek of rusty hinges.

"That was very careful," I observed. "Quiet too. In fact, I'd be surprised if someone heard that."

She cast me a withering look from under my arm. "Cut it di Angelo, we've got to get out of here."

"Really?" I asked with feigned surprise. "I thought we were on a date."

She looked ready to punch me but restrained the urge. "Come on. I've got to get you out of here alive."

"Alive would be good."

That one was left unanswered. Choosing a hallway that appeared deserted, she hauled me forward. "Come on son of Hades. You're needed elsewhere."

"Wait," I said, stopping as I remembered something. "We have to go back."

She didn't stop, and my feet were forced to keep moving. "We can't stop," she replied crisply.

"Why not?" I demanded. "Ashe and Timothy are still trapped there."

"No, they're not." Even though the corridor was almost as dark as my cell, I could swear that her face had suddenly gotten harder.

"Sure they are," I said doggedly, as my blood ran cold. They couldn't be…

"They're dead," she said shortly. "Your friend Ashe is now a fire flower and Timothy hasn't been in his cell for a week at the least."

"Oh my gods," I whispered.

She didn't answer, but continued to push onward at a pace that seemed brutal to me in my weak state. At last we stopped. She looked up and whispered a single worded command in a language that definitely wasn't Greek. A second later, white light erupted from the ceiling. "Holy Zeus!" I shouted, covering my face with my hands to block out the light. The girl seized my wrist and the next thing I knew we were hurtling upwards. When I looked down, I no longer saw Gaia's own personal prison, just rolling hills of wheat stretching in every direction. I shouldn't have looked, for that was the very same instant that my savior released me. Wind rushed past me as I shot towards the ground at a speed that just about gave me motion sickness. I didn't accelerate any faster than that though. A full five seconds before I hit, my body slowed down and I was lowered gently to the earth. The girl stood beside me when I rose unsteadily to my feet.

"That was exciting," I said sarcastically, climbing carefully to my feet. "What's next on the agenda of near death experiences?"

She didn't answer, but turned away and looked up at the stars. Now that there was some light, I was able to take a good look at her. She had black hair with streaks of silver, dyed or natural, I wasn't sure. Being a demigod, you could never tell. It shimmered when she moved, catching and reflecting the light of the myriad stars in the night sky. Her skin was dusky, and her nails were painted dark blue with a minute pattern of white stars. She looked athletic, but not overly buff or anything. There was a subtle strength about her that I liked. When she turned towards me at the sound of my footsteps, I saw that her irises were framed in silver, almost eclipsing the midnight blue. For a second, I saw echoes of terrible sadness, but then it was wiped away as her mental defenses went up. She couldn't be any older than I was, fifteen, but she was world weary. She looked away and pulled out a wicked looking knife and handed it to me. There was a star pattern etched into the white hilt and the blade appeared to be made of some black metal of a kind that I had never seen before.

"Thanks," I said, slightly surprised. I had almost expected her to gut me.

She nodded. "If you need me again, you can summon me with that. And now, we have to get away from this place. They'll search here first."

"What?" I wasn't really thinking in that direction right now.

She pushed a lock of her hair out of her face and sighed. "You were captured by Gaia, yes?"

I nodded. "Yeah, they wanted information on Camp."

"You didn't give it to them?" she said sharply.

"Of course not," I cried, a touch more than mildly offended.

"Sorry," she muttered, "but that place is the Olympians best hope against Gaia."

"Uh huh, you got that right."

Her eyes bored into mine. "Then you know that you're going to be targeted by them."


	2. Chapter 2: Entering Camp

**Chapter 2**

I tried to keep from gaping at her. "Why would I be?"

"Because you escaped Smarts, you got away."

"Only because of you," I pointed out.

She shook her head. "No, I had nothing to do with it."

"What do you mean by that? You're a demigod too." I was starting to get really confused here.

"Maybe," she replied evenly. "So?"

"Why don't you come to Camp Half-Blood with me?" I blurted. "I mean, it's like the only safe place on earth for demigods."

She looked amused. "I know all about your camp _Nico. _My mother doesn't have a cabin there. You only have twenty cabins. There are many more gods than those. Many you probably haven't even heard of."

"Who's your mom then?" I challenged.

"Nyx, goddess of the night." Her silvery eyes looked into my gray ones and I flushed. She looked at me as an equal, not like the guy who was probably dying in that cell twenty minutes ago. She took no credit for what she had done; instead she acted like it was all part of her life, which it probably was.

"So you refuse to come to camp on account of that?" I asked.

Anger lit her face. "No, I'm not that stubborn. There are others, children of other minor deities that you in your ignorance are either unaware of or never pay attention to unless fate forces your attentions their way." She sounded so furious, so bitter, that I was taken by surprise. "You aren't fit to go back to your precious camp now anyway. I'm going to take you to them, but watch your tounge."

I frowned. "No, I can get back to camp. I'll just call Chiron for a Pegasus."

"No, you're not. You can't Iris message him here, there's no water and you need sunlight anyway."

I sighed. There was no way to defeat her. "I don't want to be a burden," I admitted.

"You won't be. Don't worry about that." She turned, took a few steps north, then spun 'round and beckoned to me. "Come on." Leaving me with little choice, I followed her.

I still wasn't feeling so great and she must have known that, for she walked at a relatively slow pace. I hobbled after her, trying not to slow our progress by any significant amount. After only a few minutes though, we reached the edge of a wood. I knew this couldn't be. I had seen the field stretching in every direction for ever it seemed. The girl must have seen me looking all confused, because she said, "It's an illusion. The mist is very thick here because we have our own hideaway here. There are more monsters than we'd like around, but mortals don't know it exists. Maybe that's why Gaia has an outpost here."

"So y'all have your own camp?" I questioned.

"No. It's more like a temporary HQ. I and a few trusted friends and allies go all over the country looking for demigods like us, those who don't have a place at your camp. We bring them here. They train and learn to survive as best they can. Then when they're old enough, they either can choose to stick around and help with the effort and defense or try out life in the mortal world. When you guys first started accepting campers from minor gods, we organized large groups to be moved to Long Island for that purpose. Many of them once lived with us."

"So you mean to tell me that Butch, Clovis, Lou, and the others… they used to live here?" I tried wrapping my head around that fact but it was too far out. None of them had ever made any sign of knowing about this. Then again, we hadn't asked.

"Yeah. How is Clovis?" she asked. Her voice sounded distant, as if her thoughts were far away.

"He's great. Sleeps most of the time, but he's alright."

She nodded. "I'm not worried about the others, but the children of Hypnos… sheesh. Our satyr just about had to carry him to camp."

I grinned. "That sounds like Clovis. You guys have satyrs?"

"Not many, most reside at your camp," she said indifferently. "A few bump into us looking for Pan or something and we convince them stick around." She sighed. "It's too bad his memory has passed; the first Olympian to die because people have forgotten him." The girl laughed bitterly as she ducked underneath some low hanging branches. I shoved them aside and followed her, panting slightly. "The minor gods are lucky they're too important to fade. They are needed and; thus, they must remain. I pity them, but don't tell anyone I said that." She stopped suddenly. "This is it."

As if waiting for that very signal, two teenagers in Greek armor moved out from behind some trees. Both had permanent scowls on their face and rippling muscles. The taller of the two was a boy of about fifteen with jet black hair and dark brown eyes. The girl next to him was much the same. Both had rather broad faces with rough features and sharp intelligent eyes. From the calluses on their hands and the expert way in which they handled their weapons, I guessed that their parent must have been on of war. They looked at me suspiciously, sizing me up.

"This is Anna and Clyde" the girl told me, pointing to each in turn as she named them. "Both are children of the goddess Enyo; the minor goddess of war."

Anna cracked her knuckles menacingly. "Who's this?"

"Nico di Angelo, son of Hades," she answered.

To my satisfaction, Clyde looked slightly nervous. "He's a son of an Olympian. Gods, we don't have impenetrable borders, we'll be overrun by the next nightfall! They've been tolerant so far only because we crush them every time they attack… But this?" he shook his head and kicked a small stone on the ground, sending it whizzing off into the darkness with surprising force. "An Olympian son will be just too tempting."

Anna nodded her agreement. "Why's he staying anyway?" she asked suspiciously.

The girl shrugged. "His leg was snapped clean in half when I got to him. It looks normal now, but it was infected and the only thing I did was put it in its proper place. I'm not sure what else happened, but I think he needs to stay until it's safe for him to travel again."

"Want me to fetch Elisa for him?" suggested Clyde. "She can heal just about anything."

She shook her head. "I'll fetch her myself. Now can we enter?"

Anna chuckled. "Password?"

"Have you seen my breakfast?" she answered, managing to keep a straight face while I grinned from ear to ear.

Clyde bowed with mock solemnity and they moved aside from the entrance. Two trees, growing about five feet away from each other, grew up and towards the sky. About ten feet up, they merged and became one tree. Twin trunks joined smoothly, wrapping around each other. A little way up, the merged completely and the interlocking branches seemed to stretch up into infinity. It was a majestic sight, and I wondered how such a thing was possible.

Another more urgent question presented itself to me though. "Listen, I forgot to ask or something, but whatever the case, what's your name?"

She looked away, her curtain of black and silver hair hiding her face. "Stella," she said at long last. "Come on, we need to get you looked at."

I wondered if this was symbolic or something, but I didn't get the chance to worry about it. She walked towards the tree, or trees depending on how you looked at it, and went through. For a fleeting moment, she seemed illuminated in a golden aura. It was gone the next second though as she passed through. She turned and beckoned to me. For a moment, I hesitated. But if she could do it then so could I. I took a deep breath, and walked through the trees. Instantaneously it seemed, my eyes rolled up into my head and darkness consumed me. Just before I hit the ground and blackness filled my vision, I felt the girl catch me.


	3. Chapter 3: First Impressions

**Chapter 3**

When I came to, I was lying in what seemed an expensive hotel room. "Holy Hades," I muttered, sitting up and rubbing my eyes, quite convinced I was dreaming. The wallpaper was jet black, but appeared to shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow where the moonlight from the open window fell on it. The bed I was laying in was almost certainly a gold mixture and the sheets were woven from a silvery material. It took me a moment later to realize that it _was_ silver. A mahogany writing desk stood in a corner, covered with intricate carvings of the gods and goddesses. Most of them I didn't recognize. I gingerly got out of the bed and discovered that whatever had ailed me last time I was conscious had sorted itself out. I felt great. I crossed the room to the desk and examined the desk, for I found the insignias very intriguing. The surface of the desk was devoted entirely to Hades. I recognized my father in an instant, the Helm of Darkness on his head, the skeletal horses that drove his chariot, and the creepy scepter that he was reluctant to talk about. I grinned. Whoever had decorated the room had to be some kind of expert on the gods.

I turned and noticed a door. Crossing the room, I turned the gold handed and pulled it open. To my disappointment it was just a closet, but my interest returned when I noticed that the clothes it contained were almost certainly for me; black jeans, a skull t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. The combat boots in there were even my size.

"This is crazy," I muttered as I pulled off the black pajamas that someone had taken the liberty of dressing me in and pulled on the clothes in the closet. On impulse, I hung the pajamas in there too. Walking back to the desk I noticed that there was a note on it, one corner under the black and silver cup that held some neat looking fountain pens. I pulled it out and read it.

_Nico, if you're reading this it means that you survived the entry process. Congratulations! Now on to more important matters... You are currently in the top floor of the Hero Hotel. We don't have floor number; we name them based on godly parent. You are on the Olympian Floor which covers all Olympian children.__  
><em>In order to leave your room – Way Downstairs – you need only to clap twice with the intention of leaving. <em>  
><em>Once you have done so, please tell the... <em>_guard_... that you have an appointment with the Head Councilor and he'll find someone to take you. __  
><em>Be polite, be nice, and don't stare. Don't ask dumb questions either. I'll do my best to explain everything to you in good time. If you see a monster, don't try to kill it unless it becomes clear that it is a threat. You ought to end up alive at the end if you don't screw up too badly. <em>  
><em>Good Luck Soldier,<em>  
><em>– <em>__S_

_It was the oddest note a girl had ever written or said to me, including all that goblydeegook Annabeth comes out with. Maybe I was coming down with something. I reread the last sentence. It didn't sound very promising. I tucked the note in my jacket pocket. I had a feeling that I'd probably need it, knowing me. It said that I had to clap twice with the intension of leaving. That sounded kind of nuts, but whatever. I clapped. _

_At once, the world went black around me. It felt like I was being twisted into something incredibly small. I tried to cry out, but something was wrong with my voice. I was being forced through a portal of pure energy. Then it was over. I was standing in front of a humble looking building constructed of reddish brown bricks. To my great surprise, it was dark; night, in fact. The stars shown crystal clear and pure above. There were so many, it almost hurt my eyes to look at them. _

Consulting the note again, I remembered that I needed to find some sort of guard. In all honesty, I seriously doubted that whoever or whatever it was actually existed. Ironically enough, as soon as that thought popped into my head, a pair of meaty hands closed around my throat. I may not be an expert of power, but I could feel the strength that surged through whatever was gripping me. Whatever it was, was nothing human or demigod. It could snap my neck in an instant. My Stygian Iron sword had been taken from me early on, and right now I would have killed to have its familiar weight at my hip.

"Son of Hades," a slow, deep voice muttered somewhere above my head. "Always smells like death."

"Yeah, listen, sorry about that. I've been in a tight spot for a few weeks." I tried to keep the sarcasm from my voice. Hades wasn't all bad.

"That's the truth!" cried the creature. "Everybody always thinks the worst of Hades." _Had the thing just read my thoughts? _It sounded sad for a reason. "Just like me," it mumbled. "It's cause I'm ugly I think… and I drool when I'm excited so everybody always thinks I'm so stupid."

"That's awful," I agreed, really not caring but pretending I did just to humor it. "Listen, my name's Nico. I need to speak with the head councilor."

"Okay." It let me go and I turned… and froze.

The creature was an ogre, there was no mistaking it. I know ogres didn't show up much in Greek mythology, but I swear this is was one. It was humanoid in shape; that held true. It was far more muscular, far bigger, and far more dangerous looking than a human though. Its head was completely hairless and two dull brown eyes looked at me with a very sad expression indeed. Two fangs jutted up from its bottom lip that seriously needed a good brushing. There was a loincloth around his waist and there was a huge scythe strapped across his back. The scythe reminded me forcefully of Kronos, but there was no way there could be a connection. It smiled apologetically, showing moss-colored teeth with several missing. I restrained myself and didn't take a step back like my body was screaming at me to. Okay amendment, it was screaming at me to run and get the Hades out of here before I got killed or worse.

"You need see Stella?" it asked hopefully.

"Yeah, can you take me to her?" I asked.

To my disappointment, or relief I suppose, it shook his head. "Not me, I just guard the entrance. You go with…" he stopped, stumped for a moment, then his eyes brightened again. "You go with Chelsea." Before I could ask who or what Chelsea was, the ogre pulled out a thick scroll from only Zeus knows where. His unintelligent eyes moved over the words on it and came to a stop somewhere around the middle. His face fell. "Too easy," he mumbled. "Too easy, I should remember." He muttered something under his breath and a moment later there came the sound of running feet.

A teenage guy of around sixteen came to a stop in front on me. He had a good tan and wore a shark's tooth necklace with rippling muscles. That was all that was normal about him though. His backs of hands were blue and webbed like the fins of some sort of fish. Another strange fin started at his brow and ended somewhere around the back of his head. It rose about a foot into the air, yellow towards where it joined his head and blue towards the top. Tiny yellow scales surrounded it and changed smoothly to blue and covered his head the way normal hair would. They ended around where his eyebrows would have been facing me and the rest extended down his neck and disappeared into his aqua shirt. His sea green eyes had whites in them and the pupils were overlarge. He reminded me of some sort of sea monster/human cross over from the movies. He saw me staring and grinned. His white teeth were slightly pointed. "Name's Chelsea," he stuck out a hand to shake. Cautiously I took it. I could feel the tiny scales covering the top of his hands. He winked. "My mom's Ceto."

"Who?" I'd never even heard her mentioned.

"Ceto," he repeated. "She's the goddess of sea monsters."

"Oh." I tried not to look embarrassed.

He laughed jovially. "Hey, no worries man. Everyone eventually gets used to my face. They have to."

I nodded uncomfortably.

"So you need to see Stella, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, could you take me to her?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes. "Of course I can. Just follow me and don't stray off the path no matter what you see or hear and you should be okay."

"What's that supposed to mean?" This place was starting to give me the creeps and the darkness of the night wasn't helping.

Chelsea shrugged. "The thing is that our borders aren't impenetrable from monsters the way the demigods at Camp Half-Blood have it. That's partially because some of us are part monster and also because only an Olympian has the authority or the power to make the camp monster-proof. We don't carry the significance of Olympian demigods do so we get overlooked most of the time. We take second class." He sounded so matter of fact that I was taken by surprise. Children of Hades had always taken second place in that regard, but we had earned our place in the end, and Hades even got a throne at Olympus again. People grew up hearing about him, knowing that he was one of the Big Three. These were just a bunch of kids whose parents were seldom heard of or rarely mentioned. It would have made me angry if I had been in their place, but this guy was just completely chill with the fact. I looked at him with incredulity, suddenly ashamed of my earlier staring.

He saw my look and guessed my thoughts. "Hey man, we're cool with it now. The Titan War was a big wake-up call, ya know? Stella was going nuts trying to keep us all together." His voice trailed off and he suddenly looked like he'd said too much. "Come on," he muttered. "They're having a Gathering right now."

"A Gathering?" I asked as my heart skipped a beat. What had he meant with that slip-up, for it was a slip-up I was sure, about the Titan War? "What's a Gathering?"

He motioned to me to follow him. I fell in step beside him as we headed towards a path that headed towards the woods. The trek was well worn from the myriad feet who had walked it innumerable times before us. Crickets chirped in the underbrush and the trees rustled with activity. It didn't feel like a hostile place, but there was a certain tension to the atmosphere. I noticed the way Chelsea glanced around every few steps, eyes straining into the darkness. There was a certain nervousness in his posture that wasn't to be found at Camp Half-Blood.

"A Gathering is basically a time for some of us to pass the night in each other's company. Some, like Phoebe, are scared of what the night brings and need friends around them to feel safe. Others just like the company sometimes, and others show up for more serious conversations such as what needs to be done to better our situation. A lot of the time new admittances show up to make friends and to get to know what this is all about. Most of us are orphans or runaways. All of us are year round campers. Some of us like me have strange genetic mutations that make it impossible to live in the mortal world without a huge amount of mist and even that wouldn't fool the monsters, gifted mortals, or other demigods. People like me would probably be killed on the spot. That's why we receive special training." He paused for a moment as if he expected me to say something, but when I remained silent he went on. "We have a large concentration of mortals here too in a separate building. The ones here are the ones who can see through the mist and who can't cope with living amongst their fellow mortals who can't tell a Chimera from a Chihuahua. A few of us train specifically to break into asylums and places for the mentally challenged and insane because many of them are the ones who can see through the mist and can't deal with what their abilities show them. We train them and they become rather like demigods without the extra powers."

"So how many mortals do you have here?" I asked.

That one seemed to get him. He frowned in concentration. "Well over a hundred I think. We house them in a separate building, but they train and all that stuff with the regular demigods. It's the best way to prepare them in a worst case scenario and to promote a sense of fellowship with mortals. A lot of demigods gone bad or gods sometimes view them as animals."

I knew where he was going with that one. Kronos had thought of them that way and probably a bunch of other Titans too for that matter. Still, it was probably a touchy subject for them so I left it alone.

Chelsea stopped suddenly and I stopped too. "Here we are," he said. He clapped me on the back. "I'll see you round then Nico."

I turned to ask him how he knew my name for I hadn't shared it with him, but when I did so, he was already gone. Unsure and hesitant, I made my way towards the sound of voices up ahead.


	4. Chapter 4: Demigods

**Chapter 4**

I pushed aside a branch and stopped. A troop of half-bloods, six, maybe seven, was grouped around a small campfire. A girl, _the_ girl, Stella, was feeding the flames with dry brush. A small girl of about six years was huddled beside her. She had her arm around her shoulders as the small girl shook with fear or something else I couldn't identify.

A teenage guy, maybe fourteen, was sitting across from her. He was dressed all in black with black hair that flopped into his face. He was staring into the flames. The light illuminated his weary face and tired eyes. He raised his head and looked over at the little girl. "Want a dream Phoebe?"

The girl shook her head and closed her eyes tightly.

"I can make it a good one," he said coaxingly. "You can be whatever you want in it."

Stella seemed to pay little attention to them, but said, "Cimon, I don't think she wants it."

"No, it's okay Stella," the little girl sat up, though didn't shake off Stella's protective arm. She looked at Cimon. "Send me to a happy place Ci," she whispered, "a place where the bad dreams won't find me."

He avoided her piercing eyes black and smiled and, instinctively, I did too. He leaned forward and brushed her forehead gently with his fingertips. Phoebe sighed and snuggled into Stella's embrace. As her breathing slowed, she went limp and a look of peace came across her young face. Stella stroked her brown stringy hair fondly. She looked at the blonde girl beside her. She nodded and a few moments later she returned with a wool blanket. She draped it over the small girl and sighed.

The blonde had a wreath of buttercups around her neck and daisies woven into her hair. Her blue eyes were friendly, but hardened from recent and hard fights. "What are we going to do about her?" she asked. "I know it isn't her fault, but every time…" her voice trailed off and she shrugged helplessly.

Cimon nodded. "I know we could always tie a cloth around her eyes while she's with other demigods and us included I guess, but that doesn't seem right."

An Arabian looking boy of about eight spoke up. He had on a midnight blue turban wound around his head, but dark curls escaped it and fell into his face and sad eyes that looked like they had seen too much already. He had an air of one who did their best to remain cheerful no matter the situation. "I know it's a tad off, but she's a daughter of Phoebus. It has to be done."

Stella sighed. "We'll talk to her about it in the morning. Okay? It has to be her choice as to what happens. We all know that she hates her curse."

The boy checked a watch. He had about eight of them I noticed, four for each arm. "That'll be in about nine hours I predict."

"Zaman," Cimon started, "why don't you just wear one watch at a time?"

Zaman looked shocked. "But Virginia stole them for me!"

Stella looked exasperatedly at a girl with red hair and a sly smile, "I thought we agreed not to-"

"Oh come on Stella," she said exasperatedly. "If I didn't know you were a daughter of Nyx, I'd have thought you were a daughter of Themis."

"Virginia," Stella growled warningly. "Names. Have. Power."

"Hey Kasper," piped up an African American boy of about eleven suddenly. He had dark curly hair and thick glasses that were held together across the bridge of his nose with duct tape. His dark green shirt had an equally dark stain on the sleeve and I realized that it was dried blood.

Kasper looked up. He was a pale boy with reddish brown hair and freckles across his face. His blue eyes held a slightly dazed expression and he was holding an enormous book which he was reading. "Yeah Clark?"

"How many cabins does the camp have now?" he asked bluntly.

"Twenty."

Clark sighed. "That's the same answer you gave last time."

Kasper shrugged. "They only have to build about a hundred more before they'll be done. Anyway, they're only building cabins for minor gods who they deem important enough to earn a place there."

Zaman fiddled with a watch uncomfortably. "At least we have each other."

Cimon snorted. "We're children of gods that have either been forgotten or deemed not important enough. That's supposed to cheer us up?"

"It doesn't matter who our parents are!" Stella's voice was unexpectedly fierce. "We aren't going to let Gaia use that against us. That's what allowed Kronos to almost win the last war; we aren't going to let this happen again."

There was silence. Then, the blonde with the flowers spoke up, "We're going to have to get this place recognized, won't we? Officially, I mean. We need to get the word out that we're here."

"Oh Vi, I just don't know." Stella shook her head. "The Olympians wouldn't distinguish us I don't think. I doubt they'd even protect our boundaries or fund us the way they do the other camp."

Violet heaved a sigh. "That just sucks."

"That's life Vi," Stella muttered bitterly, but I think I was the only one who heard her. She pushed her black and silver hair out of her face and stared unseeingly at the ground.

The silence spiraled for a full minute before I made up my mind to come out and show myself. Before I could stop myself, I rose silently to my full height and walked boldly forward. Heads shot up and several drew daggers at the sound of my footsteps. None of them relaxed when the saw it was just another demigod. On the contrary, their eyes took on a guarded look. Defensiveness radiated from them in waves and I was honestly shocked. My eyes flickered automatically to Stella and I saw that she had set Phoebe gently aside and had risen to face me. She bowed and I returned the gesture.

"Nico di Angelo," he voice was as hard as ice which surprised me, "my knife."

I suddenly remembered the knife she'd given me when she'd first rescued me. I reached my hand into my jacket pocket and suddenly remembered that I hadn't equipped myself with it when I had woken up. Nevertheless, my hand closed on the smooth handle and I pulled it out. The think must have been enchanted like Percy's Riptide or maybe it was there all along, though the former was more likely. The black, wicked blade glinted in the firelight and I had a strong desire to fling it from me into the embers. I tossed it to Stella. She caught it deftly and examined it. After a moment, she nodded and tossed it back. Surprised, I caught it and put it back in my pocket.

"Sit down," she said calmly, indicating a place by the fire next to Zaman. He moved over to make room for me, then he did something that surprised me. He reached into his shirt and pulled out a gold watch on a chain and looked at me intently before fiddling with it slightly. Sighing, he put it away again. Confused, I looked from him to Stella. She offered no explanations though and Zaman wasn't going to give them to me either.

"So…" I tried not to look as uncomfortable as I felt.

"You want answers?" Violet guessed. She was looking at me critically and I got the feeling she had known I had been watching them.

To her I nodded and wondered how best to phrase my first question. I wanted to know about this place and about the demigods and creatures that lived here, but I didn't want to make a bad impression either. Kasper stroked the binding of his book and snapped it shut suddenly. He met my eyes and read my question there the way he read a book. "You want to know about us, yes?"

"Yeah." Now that it was out there I saw no point in denying it. I looked around the circle. "What is this place? Who are you?"

Cimon laughed a laugh without humor. "We are demigods, just like you. The only difference is that your parent is an Olympian."

"There's more though, isn't there?" I asked. "There_ is_ a reason why weariness and bitterness lurks around every corner no matter how brave a face you put on it."

Cimon's eyes narrowed underneath his black hair. "Such things aren't for the ears of the likes of you to hear and carry back to your people."

"That's unfair!" I protested. "We didn't do nothin' wrong."

Zaman gave me an unfriendly glance. "You've much time ahead of you, so long as you don't make an unexpected choice at the crossroads; so, trying to kill you now is useless." I opened my mouth but he kept on, ignoring me. "You personally didn't do anything wrong, but like other monsters we take our anger out on the children of the Olympians because the parents are beyond our reach."

I kept an expressionless face, concealing my shock. He sounded so much older than eight. I wondered what hardships he had endured in his short lifetime. None of the younger campers at Camp Half-Blood sounded so old or wise – especially in the face of strife. His dark eyes met mine calmly and I had to look away. "What do you mean by 'like other monsters'?"

Zaman looked grim. "The gods don't like to recognize our existence. My father is Chronos, the Greek god of time. Not the Titan Kronos, but tis a common misconception. The Olympians do not like that there are so many minor demigods around. There are so many that Zeus is quite paranoid about it all. He believes that we're raising our own private army against him."

"You aren't are you?" I cut in sharply.

"Of course not," he sounded offended. "Two years ago, we made a choice that shattered what little trust the Olympians had in us."

My heart skipped a beat. "You didn't – "

"We did. We sided with the Titans, or the majority of us did," Zaman said darkly.

"A lot of us are actually children of Titans," piped up Virginia.

Kasper nodded to her and Zaman went on. "The rest remained neutral and didn't get involved. Most of us survived; your demigods suffered the most losses. We have spent every moment of our lives preparing for a worst case scenario. Without Percy to lead you, you would all have been destroyed." Zaman didn't sound ashamed in the slightest or in the least regretful. It made me sick just to hear the indifference in his voice. He must have noticed the anger in my eyes and the way my muscles were tensing for he smiled wryly. "I don't mean to sound like I don't care… we all do – deeply. We just have learned not to hold on and to let go. It is one of our greatest weaknesses, but our greatest strength."

I looked at Stella, but she avoided my eyes. This was getting worse and worse by the second. "So why am I here?" I asked.

Violet laughed ironically. "Oh don't tell me you haven't thought of a reason!"

Shaking my head so my bangs flopped into my face, I acted dumb. The redhead – Virginia – rolled her eyes expressively. Inwardly, I sighed. Did anything fool them?

"Look son of Hades," Virginia said patiently, "Hades would have had our heads if one of his children died or was killed within the vicinity of our lands. Tis why that as soon as we got wind of your parentage we sent someone to get you out of that hole."

"Woa, hold on!" I sat bolt upright. "How were you able to know who I was?"

Stella looked grim. "That information is confidential Nico. I'm sorry, but we never reveal _all_ our secrets."

I sighed in exasperation. "What about Timothy? The half-blood I was supposed to be escorting to Camp. What about him? Why didn't you save him too?"

"Because he wasn't there to be saved." Stella looked at me dead in the eye, and seeing the sudden gleam in her silver eyes I was frightened, though why I was unsure.

"But-"

"He wasn't there to be saved," she repeated.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I begged. "Come on, stop dropping hints."

She stared into the brightly crackling flames as if lost in thought. Her shadowed eyes looked haunted in the eerie light. At last she said, "Timothy isn't in any danger from Gaia."

"Course he is. He's a demigod. We're all in danger from her as long as she rises." Stella shook her head slowly and rose to her feet almost as slowly. I stood too. "Where's Timothy now?" I demanded. I blocked her as she moved onto the worn trek. "What's so special about him that he wasn't killed or tortured?"

Stella looked at me evenly. "It isn't my place to say Nico. I'm sorry."


	5. Chapter 5: Lost

**Chapter 5**

I was angry. I had a right to be. Stella, and probably the others as well, were withholding information from me. Timothy had been my assignment, my demigod to protect and lead to Camp Half-Blood. Who did she think she was? Yeah, I admit, I felt bad for them. It must be horrible to have been forgotten, or ignored was actually more like it, but the gods and not even be allowed a proper camp but this was getting personal. I needed to know where he was. It was my duty to protect him. Mine alone. I could care less about their heritage, it wasn't really all that important compared to what I had to do. I had been sent to bring a new half-blood to camp. Well, that was exactly what I intended to do. I needed to get back to wherever Gaia had been keeping me… and to do that I needed…

Stella.

She had gotten me out of there. Maybe she could get me back in again as well. My thoughts raced across my brain with the speed of a bullet. How _had_ she managed to get down there and rescue me without getting caught? How had she managed to escape without pursuers? Each question led to another and eventually, suspicion began to form.

By this time I had left the Gathering behind me. The flickering flames had been lost in the shadows of the trees and the voices in the night had gradually faded behind me. I turned and looked back. I had strayed well off the path, but had there been a path in the direction I had taken? Quite honestly, I didn't know. I remembered what Chelsea had told me and my heart began banging against my ribs. _Don't stray off the path no matter what you see or hear. _What horrible monsters lurked just out of sight? Did I want to know? Probably not. Whatever the case, I didn't know in which direction the path lay. The best I could do would be to choose a direction and hope that I'd wind up somewhere recognizable. I couldn't see three feet in front of me, which was definitely going to be detrimental. With a shrug, I started off the in the current direction I was facing. Maybe I'd get lucky. Luck seemed to have been on my side these past few days.

My good feelings had quite dissipated about an hour later. Blundering through thickets and getting stuck in brambles will do that to you, especially when it's dark and you're lost and you have no idea as to what might lay in front of you, wanting to kill you. Finally, I stopped. I was probably going in circles. My face and clothes had been severely scratched by now and I was starting to get hungry too. Glaring around, everything looked exactly the same in any direction; I couldn't even tell what direction I had come from. That really freaked me out – I mean… I should have been able to tell where I had been blundering for the past hour. I decided that this place sucked.

I sat down on a rock, mad at myself, the gods, the world. The darned thing was a conspiracy. Before long, I started feeling stiff. Before I could stand up though, I heard something moving behind me. I twisted, sword flying into my hand. "Who-?" I hadn't even gotten the rest of the sentence out of my mouth before I recognized her. The dark hair, silver and shadowed eyes, the sadness permanently etched into her brow. "Stella?" I gaped, standing and sheathing my sword. "What-?"

"What am I doing here?" she asked me, raising an eyebrow. "Looking for you, what'd you think?"

All my bad feeling came rushing back. "Why the Hades did you come after me?" I demanded, snapping. She flinched slightly and I felt kinda bad, but didn't let up. "Couldn't let your precious son of Hades out of your sight for long, eh? I can look after myself, you know." Stella looked hurt, but still didn't say anything. For some reason, this made me even angrier than I already was. Why did she have to be so calm? Why'd she let herself get kicked around all the time? And since she did, why did she still seem so strong? "See here," I snapped, not caring if I hurt her feelings or not. "I can't stay here. This place that you guys have is running straight into the ground. But you already know that, I assume. What else can you expect from demigods who would turn to Kronos?"

Instantly, I saw that I'd gone too far. Her eyes flashed with something that ran deeper than mere anger and she turned away. "You know nothing of us," she said softly. In her voice, I could hear barely controlled rage, bitterness, and… pain. Pain and sadness. What had happened? "Yes, Nico, I came to find you. If you wish it, I can also leave you here."

"No," I said quickly, feeling like a real jerk, but not knowing how to say that I was sorry. "It's alright…"

"That's what I thought," she muttered, still with her back to me. "Come on, we shouldn't linger here for long."

"Why not?" I asked curiously as she started to move away. Quickening my pace, I caught up with her. To my surprise, she picked a fairly easy route through the woods and we moved with a good deal more speed than I had managed. Her footsteps were silent. Not a leaf cracked underneath her tread, not a twig snapped. It occurred to me that I probably sounded like a herd of elephants trampling through in comparison. "Why not?" I asked again when she didn't answer.

"Because," she snapped, sounding irritated. "This forest is an illusion. It goes on forever changing, never the same. It becomes what you expect it to be. It only took a few Underworld children and a daughter of Hecate to make this possible. It's our best defense within the camp." I stopped, but she kept going. When she realized that I was no longer right behind her, she doubled back. "Don't believe me?" she asked. "I could leave you here, you know. I didn't have to follow you. There's no guarantee of ever getting back."

I just looked at her. "You people are insane," I finally said. Weak, but it was all my mind could think right then. "That's… this is nuts…"

"Exactly. You weren't listening very hard to Chelsea, were you?" she asked. "He makes a point of telling _everyone_ not to leave the path."

Shooting her a withering look, I replied, "Yeah, he told me. I just… didn't expect… didn't think…"

"Hey, it's cool," Stella said with a shrug. For someone who had seemed so upset a few minutes before, she recovered fast. "We have to recover a few kids every year that get lost. And now we've got to go, Nico."

"Right," I said as we started off again. "How exactly did you find me anyway?"

"That was easy," she responded. "This place looks different for every person who sets foot in. However, there are places where they overlap. All I had to do was find what looked out of place to me and follow it. Rather like a trail you left behind."

I just stared at her for a moment. "Is it normal," I asked, "for new kids to just lose it and freak out?"

Stella rolled her eyes, grabbing my hand and pulling me after her. "Very," she said. "And you could be one of them if you don't get going right now."

That made me nervous, but I tried not to let anything of my emotions show on my face. She seemed to know where she was going, so I was content for her to lead me. My hands felt hot and sweaty with fear and nerves, where hers were pleasantly cool by contrast. After a while however, I started feeling like we were going in circles. I stopped and she stopped too. For a moment, I thought she was afraid because she kept looking around and her eyes were darting all over the place. Were we lost? I didn't know this place, and from what she let on, Stella didn't know it very well either. If it changed for each person to set foot within it… Yeah, we were lost. And standing there with this girl I hardly knew in the middle of nowhere and dark trees closing in all around, I got angry again.

"Well, what're you going to do?" I snapped, tugging my hand out of hers. "We're never going to get out of here!" She was supposed to be the one who knew what was going on, what to do. This was her camp after all. Why couldn't she get us out of here?

Stella glared at me. "Don't think like that – of course we'll make it out." She looked angry, but underneath I sensed that she was as afraid as I was.

"Yeah?" I demanded, angry that she was afraid. "So I suppose that the path is just a five minute walk away, eh? Just blunder along for a few more meters and we'll find it? What is the point of this place anyway if you never find your way back?"

She sighed. "Please, Nico-"

"No," I snapped. I was tired of her acting so superior. For gods' sakes, I was a son of Hades. I was way above her on the social ladder. I didn't care that she was head of this dumb camp here and I didn't care about the people here either. All I knew was that I was sick and tired of being treated like a kid. "This whole operation you're undertaking is pointless! You're never going to be recognized and none of the gods are ever going to care about someone else's kids!" As soon as the words had left my mouth, I knew that I'd gone too far.


End file.
